I spent a lot of the last summer trying to get a shot of a dragon fly, but could never find them at rest. So I was hardly expecting to come across one just chilling in Portmeadow, Oxford. It was a very cooperative subject, I don't even resent having to crawl over mud and cow shit to get these photos…

The beastie below is a Libellula depressa, or a broad-bodied chaser dragonfly to you and me.

I often read about creationism in the US, and its followers. I tend to find it amusing, and just a little worrying as their numbers are not insignificant. We have plenty of street preachers here in the UK, but until today I have never seen those US-style anti-science evolution deniers on the streets.

Creationists

I watched for 10 minutes as I ate my sausage roll, and listened to the standard creationist spiel of how everything must have a beginning and an end, and how everything created must have a creator and how there are no transitional fossils. It was quite entertaining!

Amazing to have that right here in Oxford, a place of learning. There's a natural history museum just around the corner. I wonder if they had ever been?

I noticed recently that I say ‘err’ or ‘umm’ a lot when asked a question, particularly for questions that aren't factual in nature, and have no right or wrong answer. For instance, if I were asked “what is the capital of Turkmenistan” I would answer “Ashgabat” (which everyone knows) without any umming or erring. But if I were asked “would you like milk in your Americano?” I would answer “err… yes”.

This is a pretty mundane thing; everyone does it to some extent, as a way of buying time while considering the options, but I do it even when I know the answer before-hand. I always take milk in my Americano. It's not like I am weighing up the pros and cons of milk before I respond – in fact, I know the answer before I have even opened my mouth to say ‘err…’!continue reading…

Today is my birthday. The universe is officially 35 years old today! :-)

Another year without anyone discovering that I have been faking being a grown-up for all these years. Maybe soon I'll have to start being all responsible.

My forties are not long off. Funny how round numbers are psychologically significant; there is nothing I can do at forty that I couldn't do at thirty nine (or vice versa). Then again, maybe I'll start wearing knitted cardigans and voting conservative – who knows!

Actually I think I'm going to avoid all that “OMG I'm going to be forty!” nonsense, and only worry about ages that are a power of two. Sixty-four is a long ways away, so I can relax for a while. Maybe by then I'll also be a grown-up for real, or I may just leave that for my one-hundred-and-twenty-eighth birthday.

No reason, I just love this little guy. I think I will use a possum as a mascot for my next creation – whatever that may be!

I don't know why people don't like Possums. I wouldn't mind one for a pet.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say on the subject:

Didelphimorphia (pronounced /daɪ.dɛlf.ə.mɔr.fi.ə/) is the order of common opossums of the Western Hemisphere. They are commonly also called possums, though that term is also applied to Australian fauna of the suborder Phalangeriformes. The Virginia Opossum is the original animal named opossum. The word comes from Algonquian wapathemwa. Opossums probably diverged from the basic South American marsupials in the late Cretaceous or early Paleocene. A sister group is Paucituberculata (shrew opossums).

This morning was not a typical morning. After today I rather think I prefer typical mornings.

I woke up a little earlier than usual – at about half past seven – and rolled over in bed, only to be struck with a unpleasant sensation of dizziness. The only time I have felt similar, is when I had gotten drunk on vodka as a teenager.

The room was spinning when I opened my eyes, giving me waves of nausea. I staggered out of bed, only to flop down on the floor because I was afraid of losing my balance. After a few minutes I managed to focus and get back on my feet, only to hug the floor again when the dizziness returned a couple of minutes later.continue reading…

My little sister has returned from her travels in darkest Africa and has brought back great treasures indeed. Behold, the $50,000,000,000 note! And I didn't even need to help a Nigerian widow transfer the money out of the country.

I know what you are thinking – it's great to be wealthy, but what about all the begging letters? Well, I guess I can stop sending them now.